A Sorcerer Lawyer
by forestwife
Summary: Set throughout Dime Store Magic. Lucas Cortez had taken some difficult cases in the past, but Paige and Savannah took this definition to a whole new level. Please R&R!
1. Meeting Paige Winterbourne

Disclaimer: I don't own Dime Store Magic, or any other books written by Kelley Armstrong.

Ok, this is my first fic that's neither Doctor Who or Charmed. So please be nice! It's basically Lucas's POV on what will hopefully be the whole of Dime Store Magic (the main bits anyway). Some parts of the story offer more leeway than others, which means that some chapter's will be more interesting than others!

Enjoy! (hopefully)

A Sorcerer Lawyer

Chapter 1 - Meeting Paige Winterbourne

I was stood outside an unpretentious-looking house in East Falls. The home of Paige Winterbourne. She was a witch who had taken it upon herself to care for Savannah Levine, the teenaged daughter of the notorious black witch Eve Levine, and was now paying the consequences.

A Satanic alter had been staged in her back garden, and soon all hell would break loose. She needed some assistance protecting, and she also needed a lawyer. That, I could help her with. If there was ever a job for a sorcerer lawyer, this was it.

Still looking at the house, I gathered my courage. To my chagrin, I was afraid. I know that to people around me, I come across as very confident. However, quite often, that's another bluff. It's always been my nature to be introverted and indecisive. And these aren't convenient things to be for a prospective lawyer.

Fortunately, I've always been a very good liar. A trait I inherited from my father, and one that I'll admit, has come in very useful. I've found that, when you say something, if you say it with confidence, everyone is always more likely to believe what you say.

However, this meeting was going to be made all the more difficult by the fact that I couldn't look directly at Paige. It's always been that way, looking into each others eyes, witch recognises sorcerer, sorcerer recognises witch. And yet we can't recognise our own kind, and we can't see it in ourselves.

Once, when I was young, I spent ½ an hour looking intently at my own eyes through a mirror, trying to see what was different about them. To me, they looked no different from other people's eyes, and yet whenever a witch looked at them, she would see something there that screamed 'sorcerer' at her. The same way that when I see a witch, I instinctively know.

I was no more than 4 or 5 when I encountered my first witch. I was holding my mother's hand as we went around the grocery store and a woman dropped an orange. It rolled, and stopped at my feet. So I stopped, picked it up, and handed it back to her. The middle-aged woman took it without looking at me, and said "Thank you dear." Once she'd put it in her basket, she looked to me with a smile… a smile that vanished the instant she looked into my eyes.

As I looked into her eyes, I saw something there that I'd never seen before. I was so young, I didn't really understand it. However, I knew that there was something about _this_ woman that made her different from others.

My first impulse had been to run back to my mother. However, my curious nature got the better of me, and I asked the woman why here eyes were so strange. Thinking back to the encounter, it's fortunate that the woman didn't speak Spanish. As it was, my mother heard what I said and called my back over to her, apologising to the woman.

Soon after that, I first met my father, and discovered that I was a sorcerer, and about witches.

Deciding that I couldn't stall any longer, I walked down the front path and rang the doorbell before I could change my mind. No one answered.

Strange, I knew she was in. I rang it again, and this time, it was flung open.

"Lucas Cortez," I said, my eyes downcast, "your new legal counsel." I shifted my papers from my right hand to my left, and extended my right hand to her.

"Look, I'm not interested—" she began, before pausing and asking, "Did you say 'legal counsel'?"

Hmm, clearly not what she was expecting. Obviously I didn't give off the lawyer vibe. However, I continued confidently, "I'll be taking your case from here Ms. Winterbourne. We should step inside."

I didn't wait for her to invite me, because I wasn't expecting her to, and I wanted to help. So instead, I brushed past her, and went into the living room. I scanned the room. It was a complete mess, and practically had 'searched by the police' written all over it.

"I assume the disarray is from the search." I said. "This is unacceptable. I'll speak to them about it. I presume they had a warrant? Ah, here it is."

I picked up the search warrant, and went into the kitchen.

"Wait a second, you can't just take that." Paige protested, following me.

"Do you have a copier?" I asked, moving some things aside and spreading out some of my papers on the table, "I take my coffee black." I added, hoping I wasn't pushing my luck.

"You can take your coffee down at the donut shop unless you tell me who sent you here."

Touché. Clearly Paige was not going to take this laying down. I knew that the image of witches as weak and fearful was just a stereotype, but just this once, I wished that it were true. This would be so much easier if that were the case. However, without missing a beat I said, "You are in need of legal services, are you not?"

She hesitated, "Oh, I get it—no one sent you. What do they call you guys? Ambulance chasers? I'm not interested, and if you try to bill me for this visit—"

"I'll do nothing of the sort." I assured her, "This visit is entirely free, a sample of my services. I've taken the liberty of acquainting myself with your case, and I've devised a strategy for defending you."

I pushed two pieces of paper across the table towards her. "As you'll see, this is a simple contract stating that, by agreeing to speak to me today, you are in no way committing yourself to retaining my services and will not be charged for this meeting."

While she scanned the contract, I busily pretended to read the police warrant. Internally I breathed a sigh of relief when she signed the contract. Did this mean that she was starting to cave in?

"Let's start by discussing credentials," she said.

Apparently not

"Let me assure you, Ms. Winterbourne, there is no one more qualified to handle your case." I said, really hoping she would push anymore.

But today was not my day, because she continued, saying, "Humour me, then. Where'd you go to school? Where do you practice? How many custody cases have you handled? What percentage have you won? Any experience handling defamation of character? Because that may be a possibility here."

I shuffled my papers for a minute, desperately trying to think of any other way to tell her I could help her. I came up with nothing. What had I been thinking anyway? There was no way I could've done this entire trial without looking at Paige.

So I turned to her, and said, "Let's get this over with, then, shall we?" and looked straight into her eyes.

Strangely enough, the first thing that hit me wasn't, 'witch!' but how beautiful Paige was. I couldn't really appreciate it when trying not to look directly at her, but she was.

However, after revealing that I was a sorcerer, and Savannah arriving downstairs, everything continued to go down hill. She chucked me out, for which I can't really blame her. But I'd be back, she was sure to need a lawyer sooner or later, and when she did, I'd be there. Maybe that way I could convince her to trust me.

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There you go! That wasn't too painful was it?! (please say it wasn't…)

Anyway, next chapter will be 'The Police Station' (haven't written any of it yet, I'm going to wait for some feedback on this chapter). So please, anyone who reads this, please review!


	2. The Second Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own Dime Store Magic, or any other books by Kelley Armstrong.

Chapter 2 –A Second Meeting 

After leaving the house, I returned to the motel where I was staying and considered what my next move should be.

There was no doubt that if I arrived back on her doorstep ever again, Paige would just slam the door in my face. I could protest my innocence until Kingdom come, but until she sees concrete evidence to the contrary, she will remain convinced that I'm in league with Nast in pursuit of Savannah. And I can already tell, even after such a brief encounter with Paige, that especially when it comes to Savannah, she takes no chances in trusting people, and definitely takes no bullshit from anybody.

So, for the rest of the day and half of the next, I remained in my motel room. I tried to go through one of the many stacks of paperwork that I always manage to acquire. How is it that despite the fact that I don't get many cases and I don't get paid very often, I always manage to have so much paperwork to do? It's at times like these that I understand why there are so many secretarial staff at my fathers cabal.

The monotony of the work I was doing was broken at about midday when the elusive contact I'd set up called me. He informed me that Paige Winterbourne had murdered Mr Cary of the local law firm, had been arrested and was currently in jail. I was out the door and on my way to the police station in minutes.

When I arrived at the police station, I discovered that Paige had indeed been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a certain Mr Grantham Cary. So, Paige now needed a lawyer. It was a little earlier than I'd originally anticipated, but not unwelcome. Apart from of course, the unfortunate circumstances that this auspicious opportunity had arisen, namely Mr Cary's death and Paige's arrest.

It only took a few minutes to convince the officer at the desk that I was Paige's lawyer, as thankfully, I have a natural talent for forging signatures and handwriting, as well as lying.

As I reached the door to the room in which, no doubt Paige was being questioned, I heard her voice, "I want a lawyer."

I also heard the scathing reply of the detective in there with Paige, as I began the incantation of a binding spell under my breath, "Well, that could be difficult, Paige, considering he's just been taken to the county morgue. Maybe you don't understand the seriousness—"

This I took as my cue to enter, whilst finishing the spell, and thus binding Paige securely, or securely enough for the moment at least, "She understands the seriousness perfectly well. That is why she's asking for her lawyer. I will assume, Detective, that you were just about to honour that request."

Detective Flynn then started asking me questions, to which I answered almost automatically as I had to keep most of my concentration on keeping the binding spell going, which also meant I had to keep my eyes on Paige. As I talked, trying to get a private room where I could speak to Paige alone (honestly, the Detective must've thought I was a complete moron, let alone only passed the bar exam yesterday), I could feel Paige mentally pushing at the magical bonds holding her. Finally, with a snap, the spell broke. I dreaded what this could mean. Would she have me thrown out?

To my surprise, she merely sat there, not saying a word until Flynn left to find us a room, and then she only murmured, "Forging my signature on legal documents, sorcerer?" That I could deal with. I'd been expecting a lot of yelling and cursing, or maybe she was saving that until we were in a private room… I really hoped not.

But once Flynn had grudgingly escorted us to another room, all hell did not break loose. Instead, Paige sat down and said, "Very convenient, how you just happen to be around every time I need a lawyer."

Damn it. She was still so suspicious of me. "If you are implying that I am somehow aligned with Gabriel Sandford or the Nast Cabal, let me assure you that I would not debase my reputation with such an association."

To my words she just laughed. What was it going to take to convince her of my sincerity? What do I have to do to persuade her to let me assist her? If she would only let me get her out of jail, then maybe she would realise that I'm not just trying to manipulate her to get to Savannah. But all I said was, "You're too young to be so cynical."

To this, she challenged me about _my_ age, complaining that Sandford didn't even bother sending a 'full-fledged sorcerer'. And when I suggested that surely the Nasts would surely send someone older and more competent, she said, "Maybe, but there are advantages to sending a guy closer to my age, right?"

Ok, now I was confused. What advantage could there be for a powerful organisation such as the Nast Cabal by sending a young, inexperienced lawyer to Paige?

So I asked her, "Such as?"

As soon as I'd asked. I wished I hadn't. As she looked critically at my cheap suit, my glasses, and my whole appearance, I knew exactly what she'd meant. But I forced my expression to remain neutral as she clearly came to the same conclusion I had when I'd first met her. No one was playing the seduction card in this game. She was way out of my league, and I'd known it from the moment I first saw her.

She covered really badly, stumbling over her words, "Well, you know, I might be able to relate better, be more sympathetic…"

Clearly, I was the only one here who could lie. Not that that was really to my credit, nor was it a reason for Paige to trust me. I'd keep quiet about that particular talent for now.

Therefore, I covered for her, pretending I bought her story, and then explaining about how I really managed to be there when she needed a lawyer. As you can no doubt imagine, Paige was less than pleased to hear that I was bribing someone to feed me any new rumours regarding her situation. However, I got the impression that beneath her distrustful exterior there was an underlying spark of respect for me for telling her the truth.

Apparently, Paige was someone who valued honesty highly. I wasn't really surprised. Most people rank honestly at or near the top in any list of commendable traits for a person to possess. But now I knew that the second Paige discovered any lie I told, then that was it. No more chances, it would destroy any and all trust and respect she could possibly ever to have for me. I would have to be very careful, and try not to tell too many lies.

My persuasion of Paige to let me act as her lawyer had been going rather well up until now. When I say well, I mean of course that she hadn't had me thrown out, and I was possibly starting to gain her confidence. But then I had to go and put my foot in it. I just had to mention her Coven being uninterested in helping her.

The instant I said that, she was on her feet and striding to the door. As she lifted her hand to bang on the door, I caught it. I tried desperately to get her to reconsider. I even used my last ditch attempt argument, her Achilles heel. Savannah.

When I mentioned Savannah's safety, I saw Paige waver. I saw her hesitate, and for a minute I held my breath, praying that she would agree to my helping her.

But to my dismay, she banged her fist on the door, and when Flynn opened it, she said, This man is not my lawyer," and stalked away from me.

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Now, I very rarely swear, or not out loud anyway. But after I'd been escorted from the police station, and was stood alone in the car park, every curse and oath I'd ever heard ran through my head, and I muttered under my breath, "Shit."

It took me over 2 hours, and a mixture of magic, lies and confidence to talk my way back into the police station. It would have taken even longer, but fortunately, all the police officers in East Falls were extremely weak-minded, and therefore easily susceptible to my mind manipulation spell. I could just tell them what I wanted them to believe, and after a few repetitions, they thought that what I was telling them was true.

Then I made sure that I talked to the Detective without Paige there, and found that they didn't even have enough evidence to lay charges against her. That was the first piece of good news I'd heard all day.

When I went back into the room Paige was in, she immediately raised her voice to object. But I once again managed to successfully cast a binding spell, and she fell silent, unable to move.

Once the police officer had left the room, I undid the spell, and immediately she began yelling at me, "You scheming son of a bitch! I don't believe this. I told them—I told that Detective—no one's listening to me! Well, they're going to listen now. I didn't sign anything, and if you have papers with my signature, I'll prove it's a forgery. Whatever the penalty for misrepresenting a client—"

"They aren't going to lay charges," I interrupted. Not that I blamed Paige for her bad mood, or for not trusting me, I was just getting a little tired of being yelled at. And now she was trying to tell me she'd get me sent to jail? Yeah, right. As if my father would ever allow that. I shudder to think what my father would do to Paige if she had tried to get me imprisoned… In fact, I'd rather not think about that at all.

Once I'd explained to Paige what was going on, I hoped that maybe she'd let me stay as her lawyer. But I really should know by now, Paige doesn't trust sorcerers, and probably never will. There was no way she was going to hire me.

I predicted correctly. As I was trying to defend myself, she interrupted with, "If you want to bill me for today, go ahead. I'll pay. You earned it. But I can't—won't work with you. You're a stranger. You're a sorcerer. I can't trust you. It all comes down to that."

Then she turned and walked away. I followed and helped her with the paperwork. For the life of me, I don't know why I did. She'd made it very clear that there was no way she would ever trust me, not enough to hire me anyway and that I was wasting my time. Paige had said she would pay me for my work today, surely that should've been enough. But somehow, just as I knew that I wasn't going to bill Paige for my helping her, I also knew that this wasn't the end. Paige was going to need my help, whether she liked it or not, whether she trusted me or not. And really, it all came down to that.

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I hope you all enjoyed that! Sorry it's been so long, but I had some problems with the second half of the chapter. I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but I don't know… what did you guys think? Please, please review and tell me! I try to reply to all (and any) reviews, so any questions, feel free to ask!

Next Chapter: The Coven Meeting


	3. The Coven Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own Dime Store Magic, it's characters, or any other books written by Kelley Armstrong.

Thanks you so much to Shlane for reviewing the last chapter…

Chapter 3 – The Coven Meeting

When I'd briefly been inside Paige's house, the first time we met. I'd spotted her calendar on the wall. On it, I'd noticed that she had a book club meeting marked down for seven-thirty today.

After her predicament earlier today of being implicated in a murder investigation, I'd would have hoped that she'd have the sense not to go. However, after having twice met Paige. I feared that she would be stubborn enough to go to the meeting, and carry on her every day life as if nothing had happened.

A plan began to formulate in my mind. Perhaps if I waylaid Paige in the car park, I could persuade her to think logically about what she was doing… I shook my head. There was no way in the sphincter of hell that was going to work. I knew by now that once Paige had made her mind up about something, she very rarely changed her decision.

And yet, despite knowing this, at seven-fifteen I was on my way to the local community centre.

Once I got there, I sat in the car, and watched the people arriving, who included Paige and Savannah. A girl walked past my car with her mother, and glanced at me. I caught a brief glimpse of her eyes, and knew instantly exactly why Paige had been so determined to come to this meeting. The girl was a witch, which meant that her mother was a witch too. Coincidence? I very much doubted it. This wasn't a book club meeting, but a Coven meeting.

So, I sat outside the community centre in my rental car, and waited. What else could I do? As much as I wanted to talk to Paige again, I wasn't about to gatecrash her Coven Meeting. I could already tell that her Coven was a sore spot with her for one reason or the other, and that when it came to them, I shouldn't push my luck.

However, after about half an hour, Paige came storming out of the centre. I hesitated for a second. Did I really want to try talking to her again when she was looking ready to incinerate something?... or some_one_.

I sighed. I had no choice really. If I wanted to help, I had to talk to her, never mind what kind of mood she's in.

I got out of my car and walked over to where Paige was fuming, and said, "May I assume it's not going well?"

She wheeled around, and I hurriedly continued, "Yesterday I noted a seven-thirty book club appointment on your calendar, which I feared you might be obstinate enough to attend, despite the danger inherent in pursuing regular activities—"

As I spoke, I could see Paige's face getting darker and darker. She really didn't like me very much. Then she snapped, "Speak English."

But I just carried right on. It was more or less my unwritten rule: when in doubt, talk incoherently. That way everyone's usually too busy trying to figure out what I'm saying to think or do anything else, "However, I now realise that you were not acting rashly in attending a mere book club, but instead wisely conferring with your Coven and enlisting their help implementing our plan. Now, as you may recall, step three of the initial list requires enlisting the members of your Coven to discreetly support you—

Again, Paige interrupted me. But this time, what she said made me stop, "Forget it counsellor. They aren't going to be supporting me, discreetly or otherwise. I am hereby forbidden to impose my problem—_my_ problem—on any member of the Coven."

What the—? This was virtually unheard of! A Coven refusing to help one of their own? Not to mention that Paige is supposed to be the Coven leader… This was a situation that had to be dealt with and solved immediately. Never mind about worrying about interrupting their meeting…

So, I muttered, "I'll handle this." And strode off towards the community centre, undoing all the spells in my way.

Once inside, I looked around at the group of offending witches, none of whom seemed to have noticed me yet, and said, "Ladies, I apologise for interrupting your meeting."

That got their attention.

I wasn't entirely sure of what I was expecting from them when they saw a sorcerer in their midst. But what happened, definitely wasn't it.

Every single witch in the room shrank away from me, as if I was carrying a really nasty disease. All of them had a fearful look on their faces.

I suppose what I'd probably been expecting was a cavalcade of spells to be thrown at me. I was expecting to have to defend myself in some way. But no spells were cast, none of the witches even seemed to be considering it. God help them if they ever some across a more intimidating sorcerer. I was a young, inexperienced and anything-but-intimidating sorcerer, and I had no hostile intentions at all towards witches. This made me part of a minority in the sorcerer world.

Savannah was the only one to speak. She just smirked at me, and said, "You again? You don't take a hint, do you?"

Then, another of the witches in the room managed to work up the courage to speak, but not apparently, to speak coherently, "He's—he's a—," she stuttered.

"A sorcerer," Savannah finished her sentence for her, and then added, "Get over it."

Apparently, that was as much of an introduction as any of the witches in the room needed. All they needed to know was that I was a sorcerer. Sometimes I wished that people would judge me by who I am, not what I am, or who my father is. I wish they could just judge me as Lucas.

"Lucas Cortez," I told them. "As you know, Paige is undergoing a custody challenge and, as a result, has now been implicated in a murder investigation. In order to protect Paige's reputation, there are several actions I will require from each of you. I don't suppose you have access to an overhead projector?"

Silence.

No one said anything, no one moved. This was going to be hard work. I mean, I've seen brick walls more animated that this lot. They all seemed to be rigid with fear.

After a few seconds that felt like a decade, Savannah handed me a marker pen and gestured towards the flip chart. Then she sauntered back over towards her table, clearly finding the whole thing very entertaining.

As I explained my plan for defending Paige, I had to admit that I understood where Savannah was coming from. I personally was finding this meeting very uncomfortable and awkward. I was very aware that I was the only one on the room who wasn't a witch, and that everyone else was gawking at me like I was something that the cat had brought in. But I suppose if I'd been in Savannah's shoes, then I probably have found it as amusing as she seemed to be.

Once I'd finished, I asked, "Are there any questions?" despite the fact that I knew that no one in the room had been listening to a word I'd been saying.

As if to prove my point, the girl who I'd seen earlier with her mother, raised her hand and asked, "Are you are a bad sorcerer?"

Now of course, I knew exactly what she meant. She wanted to know if I was evil or not. But I decided I was going to pretend that I didn't know what the stereotype for a sorcerer was, and instead I said, "I lack some proficiency in the higher-order spells, but, at the risk of sounding overconfident, I must say there are worse sorcerers."

Paige laughed at that. Covering it very badly with a cough.

Then, another witch spoke up, "Mr. Cortez is right. We all need to come together and help Paige in any way we can."

Finally, another witch with a backbone. But unfortunately, it seemed that none of the other witches in the room were ready to support her statement.

Paige mumbled something I didn't quite catch behind me.

"Cortez," The old woman in the corner murmured, "I knew a Cortez once. Benicio Cortez. Back in seventy-two, no, seventy-nine. The Miami affair. Horrible—" Then the old woman blinked, and seemed to notice me for the first time. She remarked, "Who are you, boy? This is a private meeting."

So, a witch in Paige's Coven had encountered my father. But if Paige herself knew anything about him, she hadn't mentioned anything to me. I really hoped that she didn't, and that she didn't ask me anything about 'Benicio Cortez'. I suspected that the news that my father ran a cabal would not go down well.

But I had no more time for contemplation at that time. The meeting had ended, and as all the witches scurried for the door, the Coven elders closed in on Paige.

As Paige argued with them, Savannah came up to me, grinning. "You should come to these meetings more often," she remarked.

I raised an eyebrow, "And what, would my attending _your_ Coven meetings accomplish?"

"They'd be more fun!" she laughed, "This was the best Coven meeting I can remember for, like, ever! Everyone in this stupid Coven, apart from Paige, is so stuffy and boring. I don't even know why we bother coming."

"Well, not being a member of a Coven myself. I can't tell you why witches such as yourself and Paige attend them. I can however, tell you that this Coven means a lot to Paige, for whatever reason."

That sobered up Savannah's expression a bit, and she glanced over at Paige, who the elders were now walking away from. I really hoped that she was taking into account what I'd said.

As the three elders walked away from Paige, I moved over to her and asked, "Perhaps you'd care to reconsider my offer?"

Paige looked over at the elders, who were now watching us. I knew that Paige was supposed to be telling me to get lost, so I braced myself for the worst. But to my surprise, she said, "You're right. We should talk. Savannah, come on, we're going," and motioned for me to lead the way to the car park. Maybe things were finally starting to look up for once…

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Another chapter finished… I hope you all liked it! I'm starting to think that I'm using too much dialogue from the book. I mean, I do try to not rigidly follow the book word for word etc, but obviously some parts of it allow for more leeway than others…

I'll try to get another chapter out before Christmas, but I can't make any promises! So, please, please, please review!


	4. Leah

Disclaimer: I don't own Dime Store Magic, or any of the books or characters by Kelley Armstrong.

A/N: Many thanks to Shlane and CareBearErin for reviewing!

Chapter 4 - Leah

Once we'd left the Coven meeting, Savannah, Paige and myself went to a nearby Starbucks to speak further.

It wasn't hard to arrange the situation so that Paige and I could speak alone. A subtle mention of reviewing Savannah's list with her was enough to make her accept the offer of a magazine to read instead.

Then, during the half-hour Paige had allotted me. I explained to her all about the Cabals. How they were run, their hierarchy system, their motives, everything. I also explained who Kristof Nast was as heir to the Nast Cabal.

Once my time was up, I could see that Paige was seriously considering hiring me. But I could also see that she was still wavering. So I gave her my business card, and asked her to think about it. However, as I drove back to my motel I remained quietly confident that come tomorrow, she would call me and ask me to help.

Sure enough, next morning my phone rang, and it was Paige wanting to hire me. We made arrangements that I'd come to her home at ten-thirty to discuss our plan of action, and it was agreed.

A little over an hour later, I was driving down Walnut Lane towards Paige's house. However, while I was still several doors away, a red-headed woman waved at me, walking towards the car. A red-headed woman who I recognised as Leah O'Donnell.

Now I knew who Leah was. She was a Volo. The highest ranking of all telekinetic half-demons. She could move objects with her mind, and in the case of smaller objects, with enough force to decapitate someone. And she could do it within a distance of about 50 feet. I also knew that this woman was dangerous, and had killed multiple people, including Paige's mother. And yet, when she flagged me down, I pulled over to see what she wanted. I wasn't suicidal, I merely knew that she wouldn't dare harm me. Sometimes having a powerful father can be rewarding…

When I came to a stop, Leah hopped into the passenger seat beside me and chirped, "And what would the baby Cortez be doing here in East Falls?"

But then, before I could verbalise a reply, she said, "Wait! Let me guess… You're here to be Paige's knight in shining armour and single-handedly save Savannah from the clutches of her evil father and his all-powerful Cabal!" Then, turning to me, she asked cheerily, "Am I close?"

"Leah, I don't see that my presence here is in any way your concern, or indeed, your business," I replied coldly. I had no time to entertain her jokes, and definitely no time to waste on niceties with a murderess.

"Ok, lets cut straight to the chase then shall we Lucas?" Leah said, turning to me with a more serious expression on her face.

"Please do."

"You're making quite a nuisance of yourself here. Getting in our way as much as possible it seems like. And what for? Why are you getting involved with Paige and Savannah, Lucas?" She spoke in a tone of voice that, unbeknownst to her, I have heard time and time again. It's the voice that people use when they try to convince me that what I do is a waste of time, and that I should just go back to my father and join the Cortez Cabal.

It's also a tone of voice I hate. A patronising voice that says 'I know what's best for you'. But Leah didn't realise this, and kept on talking, "It's not like they even appreciate all that you've done for them so far, do they? They probably don't even know all of what you've been doing for them up until now."

Leah sighed, and looked at me with what I'm sure was supposed to be an understanding smile, "Just go back home to daddy Cortez, Lucas. This is the Nast's business, not yours."

"Well Leah," I began, "You can tell Mr Nast, if you even have access to him—that I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience, but that I have no intention of abandoning this case and running back to my father."

"You're going to get yourself hurt," Leah said in a warning, sing song voice.

"No I won't Leah," I answered, fast getting fed up of the over-used arguments she was using, "Mr Nast knows perfectly well what the repercussions of killing me would be. My father has made them quite clear."

"You know Lucas," Leah said in a mock thoughtful tone, "You always say that you're not going to run back to your father, and yet, all you're doing anyway is hiding behind him."

I opened my mouth to ask the red-headed half-demon to leave… and my phone rang.

Flipping it open, I answered, "Lucas Cortez."

"Hey, it's me, Paige," Paige said, her voice full of forced cheerfulness. Most people wouldn't have noticed, but I could hear it, even down the phone. Part of being good at lying was the ability to spot a lie. "Any chance you could pick up some cream on the way into town? There's a corner store right off the highway. Are you there yet?"

"No, not yet. I'm running a few minutes behind," I said, before I could catch myself. Instantly, in my head I was thinking, _Idiot! If Paige catches you, that's it! She'll never trust you again!_

Beside me, Leah laughed and said, "Tsh, tsh baby Cortez—You'll end up with a nose like Pinocchio!"

I shot a glare at her, and she fell silent. Then I asked Paige, "Do you prefer table cream or half-and-half?" I couldn't back out of the lie now…

"Half-and-half," Paige replied, and then she continued, "Oh, and be careful when you drive in. I've got people hanging around my place. Don't pick up any hitchhikers."

What did she mean? Could she mean what I thought she meant? Or did Paige always say strange things like that? Did she know that I was already here? Did she know that Leah was here? What should I do?

All these thoughts ran through my head in the split second pause after Paige's seemingly bizarre request. But all I said was, "Yes, of course," the panic I was beginning to feel making no inflection on my voice.

However, Paige wasn't done yet…"Especially red-headed half-demons. They're the worst kind," she said. And my blood ran cold.

Shit! There was definitely no chance that this was just a random phone call. Paige knew about Leah, and by lying I'd just destroyed any smidgen of trust that she'd had in me. How can I have been so stupid?! Why did I lie?

This time, there was a much longer moment of silence on the line. Every second of which was complete agony. What should I do? What should I say to Paige? I just wanted to bash my head against the steering wheel. A little extreme I know, but that was how much I was kicking myself for my stupidity.

In the end, all I said was, "I can explain."

But Paige clearly didn't want to know anymore, because all she said was, "Oh, I'm sure you can." And then she hung up.

The line went dead, and for a second I stared at my cell phone. Leah, who was still sitting beside me, said in her still annoyingly chirpy voice, "She hang up on you? Ouch. Well, it shows how much she wants your help, doesn't it baby Cortez?"

However, I wasn't even really listening. My brain was busy trying to formulate a way to convince Paige that I was sorry, and that I really wanted to help. "Get out Leah," was the only response I had for Leah.

But Leah wasn't going to leave until she'd had her last say, "Awww. Pissed off because she dumped you?" She leant over and whispered in my ear, "Do the smart thing Lucas. Forget about Paige. Go back to Miami." And then she left, slamming the car door behind her.

As soon as Leah was at a safe distance, and retreating down the road, I hit the redial button on my phone. Paige's phone rang once, rang twice, and then the answering machine kicked in.

"Paige? It's Lucas. Please pick up. I'd like to speak to you," I pleaded to the answering machine, hoping that Paige was listening. "I can explain. I was driving to your house and Leah hailed me. Naturally, I was curious, so I pulled over and she asked to speak to me. I agreed and—"

Paige cut me off, "I don't care why the hell you spoke to her. You lied about it."

"And that was a mistake," I said desperately, "I fully admit that, Paige. You caught me off guard when you called and—"

"And you had to stumble and stammer for an excuse, right? Bullshit. You lied without a moment's hesitation. You lied so smoothly I bet a lie detector wouldn't have caught it. I don't care why you spoke to Leah, I care about how easily you lied, and do you know why? Because now I know you've got a talent for it."

So, Paige hated me because I could lie. I really should have seen this coming. Right from the beginning, I'd seen that Paige was someone who valued honesty above everything else. If I'd taken this into account, and been entirely forthright with her, then this could've been completely avoided. Paige would still trust me, and we'd be trying to come up with a way of saving Savannah.

"Yes, that's true, but—"

"Well, at least you're honest about that. You're a skilled liar, Cortez, and that tells me that I can't believe anything you've said to me so far," Paige informed me.

Damn. That meant that even all the true things I'd told her meant absolutely nothing. "I can see where—"

But Paige cut me off again, "What I saw out there today only convinces me that my first instinct was right: you're working for the Nasts. I told myself that doesn't make sense, but now I get it. They made sure it wouldn't make sense."

"How—?"

"I'm a programmer, right? I think logically. Send me a smooth, sophisticated, well-dressed sorcerer, and I'd see through that scam in a minute. But send you and I'll say, This guy can't work for a Cabal. It doesn't make sense. It's not logical. And that was the whole idea."

Well I suppose her theory would've made sense, had I really been sent by the Nast Cabal. But as I hadn't, it was only serving to convince Paige that there was no way she could ever trust me. However, I had one last card up my sleeve.

"I believe I can clear this up," I said.

"Oh, you do, do you?" Paige was scornful, and I knew that this was my last chance.

"I haven't been entirely forthright with you, Paige," I continued, choosing my words carefully.

"_Wow_. Really?" Ouch. Now Paige wasn't just scornful, she was sarcastic too.

"I don't mean about my association with the Nasts—I'm not. Nor was my motivation, as stated, entirely inaccurate, though I am guilty more of omission than deceit." I attempted desperately to get Paige to listen to what I was saying.

But she was having non of it. "Stop right there. Whatever you tell me next will just be more lies. I don't want to hear them."

"Paige, please, just listen," I pleaded with her, "I told you the version of my story which I believed you would find most palatable and would therefore—"

"Hanging up now."

No!—she couldn't terminate the call. She had to hear what I had to say! "_Wait!_" I insisted, "You are, I believe, well acquainted with Robert Vasic. You're friends with his stepson, Adam. Would I be correct in assuming you trust him?"

"Adam?" Paige asked, confused by my query.

"Robert."

"What does Robert have—?"

But this time, I interrupted Paige, "Ask Robert who I am."

"What?"

"Ask Robert who Lucas Cortez is. He doesn't know me personally, but we do have mutual acquaintances, and if Robert is not inclined to vouch for my integrity, then he will be able to recommend someone who can. Will you do that?"

I sent up a silent prayer that her over-active curiosity would get the better of her and that she'd make the call to Robert. He was my last hope. If he couldn't tell her anything that might persuade her to give me another chance, then I had no worthwhile grounds for remaining in East Falls. And then, Paige would have to combat Kristof Nast unaided, while Nast had an entire Cabal behind him.

"What's he going to tell me?" Paige asked.

Should I tell her? I paused for a second in indecision. But then decided against it. "I think, perhaps, at this stage it would be better if you heard it from Robert first. If I tell you, and you choose not to believe me, you may decide not to follow up with a call to Robert. Please call him, Paige. Then phone me back. I'll be at my motel."

I hung up the phone, and proceeded to manoeuvre the rental car out of Walnut Lane. As I drove away I realised there was nothing I could do now. My fate was entirely in Robert Vasic's hands…

Alright, there was one thing I could do. It would probably prove to be ineffectual, but at least I'd feel as if I were doing something.

It was time to discard the rental car and start up my motorcycle…

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A/N: Yeah, so I hope anyone who's reading this liked this chapter! I'm also very sorry that it took me so long… I'll really try to make sure that it doesn't take me that long to do the next chapter, which will be called _The Funeral Home_…

Please review!


	5. The Funeral Home Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Dime Store Magic, it's characters, or anything written by Kelley Armstrong.

Many thanks to Rayne, Shlane, CareBearErin, kits, EndangeredSnowflake, lime juice and starslaugh for your reviews!

Enjoy!

Chapter 5 – The Funeral Home – Part 1

That was it… I'd completely destroyed any possible chance there was of Paige ever trusting me ever again. And I couldn't say that I blamed her. I was, after all, a sorcerer, and she was a witch. Just based on that information alone she had every reason to be suspicious of me. The rest of my kind weren't exactly renowned for their good nature or honesty. But then, to top it all off, I'd consorted with the enemy, and _lied_ about it. Really, the reason _why_ I'd spoken to Leah was of no consequence. The fact was, that I'd tried to conceal to Paige the truth of my dealings with the woman who murdered her mother.

Before she'd hung up on me, I had managed to ask her to call Robert Vasic, a half-demon who I was certain could vouch for my integrity, and who I knew Paige trusted. I only hoped that Paige's curiosity would be enough to overpower her anger at me, and lead her to do as I had asked.

It was only as I was driving back to my motel room, for a change of clothes and to pick up my motorcycle, that I realised that I'd just inadvertently lied to Paige yet again. I'd told her that I'd be at the motel, when really I'd never had any intention of going back and staying there. Paige and Savannah had already proven that they attracted more trouble than they could efficiently deal with by themselves. I'd have to try to take up some discreet, and hopefully, inconspicuous surveillance work.

Back at the motel, I quickly changed out of my suit and into more casual clothing, consisting of khakis, a shirt and a leather jacket. Looking at the Ralph Lauren shirt I'd ended up wearing, I knew that my desire to present myself in a more appealing light to Paige was becoming slightly more than subconscious. I _never_ wore this shirt. It had been one of the many gifts from my father that I'd received during the time when he was still trying to persuade me to accept the initiation and return to the Cortez Cabal. And of all the various expensive gifts he'd tried to buy me back with, this was one of the very few that I'd kept, and at my mother's insistence no less.

Trying to put it from my mind, I removed my glasses, tucking them in my jacket pocket, and put in a pair of contact lenses. This was why I preferred glasses. Contact lenses were so much hassle to put in and to remove, and if you ever got any grit underneath one… I just felt that it was unnecessary pain.

So, leaving the motel and revving up my motorcycle, I made my way back to Walnut Lane. There I waited, unnoticed by either Paige, or the people all camped outside her house.

It wasn't until one o'clock that Paige and Savannah emerged from the house and drove off. As I was following them (as a safe distance of course), I noticed that I was attracting a lot more attention than I wanted, and a lot more than I usually did. Only as I was considering this did I notice the distinct lack of motorcycles there appeared to be in East Falls. Apparently when trying to be clandestine and surreptitious, it was not the appropriate vehicle to use. I'd make note of that for future reference and stick to my rental car.

After a few minutes, to my surprise and confusion, Paige proceeded to pull into the hospital parking lot. Then, she and Savannah made their way over to the funeral home, with Paige refusing to walk along the road, and to my perplexity and slight amusement, squirming through a gap in the hedge instead, a disgruntled Savannah following her.

But why were they going to the funeral home? I knew that it was the unfortunate Mr Cary's memorial service today, but surely, Paige wouldn't do something so unreasonable and… inappropriate as to _go_. However, judging by her general behaviour, and obvious determination not to be seen, I'd have said this definitely wasn't the case. So, why were they there?

Unnerved by the situation, I parked my bike and made my way over to the funeral home, breaking into a run when I heard the first screams emit from inside…

As I drew closer to the front doors, they opened and Leah, Sandford and another woman I vaguely recognised as a necromancer came out and walked towards their car. They hadn't seen me coming down by the side of the building, but they did see Savannah, who came bursting out the front door seconds later.

Savannah was white-faced as she stumbled from the building, clearly shocked by whatever it was she'd seen. But fortunately, she still had her wits about her. When she saw Leah, she turned to run, and collided straight into me as I reached her.

What I hadn't expected Savannah to do, was punch me in the face.

However, that's exactly what she did. I stumbled back as her fist hit my jaw, much harder than I'd have thought she was capable of. But then before I could protest to the girl that I was there to help, both Savannah and I were sent flying, no doubt courtesy of the telekinetic half-demon.

We both hit the tarmac of the parking lot hard, and I winced as I got to my feet. I could tell I was going to have a lot of bruises tomorrow. But there was no time to bemoan that fact now. Savannah had scrambled to her feet beside me, and was sending me looks that clearly showed what she thought of me, while Leah was confidently walking towards us, her smirk showing how much of a threat she considered us.

The first words of a barrier spell passed through my lips as she drew closer, and I hoped against hopes that the spell wouldn't fail.

However, I never had to rely on the spell. It was at this point that Sandford hurried up behind Leah and hissed at her, "O'Donnell! What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Leah angrily opened her mouth to answer, but Sandford wasn't interested, "Mr Nast wants this done legally. Leave the girl," then he glanced disdainfully at me and added, "And you should know that no one touches a Cortez. It would start a blood feud the likes of which you have never _seen_! Benicio would have _all_ our heads! Now come on."

With that, Sandford stalked off towards their car. Leah sent one last glare at Savannah and I and then followed him, her face as red as her hair.

Once I was sure they'd gone, the screech of their tyres announcing their departure, I turned back to Savannah and asked urgently, "Where's Paige?"

But she didn't say anything. The girl just stared at me. Fearing that she could be hurt or something, I asked, "Are you okay?"

That seemed to bring her to her senses. "What do you care, sorcerer?" she said defiantly, her chin up, before asking, "And what was that guy talking about 'no one touches a Cortez'? Who the hell is Benicio? And a blood feud? Pfft! Melodramatic much?!"

Then she stood and looked expectantly at me, arms folded. Her piercing blue eyes tore through me, and for the first time I can remember, I was lost for words. What did Savannah want me to say? Did she really want me to recount my life story, _here _and _now_?

"Well?" she demanded impatiently, "I want an explanation, sorcerer. Or-or I won't tell you where Paige is."

Was she _serious_? She was going to endanger Paige for some answers? But as she stood there, firmly holding her ground, I recognised what this was. Savannah just didn't want to back down. She probably didn't comprehend what kind of jeopardy Paige could be in. To her, this was just a battle of wills, and one that I simply didn't have time for. Or at least, Paige didn't, I realised as I heard the screams from the building behind us escalate in volume.

I'd just have to give her a condensed version. A _really_ condensed version. "My father, Benicio Cortez, is the CEO of the most powerful Cabal in the world. Now, I play no role in my father's organisation, but simply being a Cortez bequeaths me a certain amount of protection. That means that were anyone from another Cabal to assassinate me, it would start, as Sandford so eloquently put it, a 'blood feud'."

"Whoah!" Savannah said, and looked at me with something that almost looked like respect, "That is so cool!"

"So, where's Paige?"

"Oh, she's still inside," was Savannah's answer.

I fought the urge yell profanities at that. I already _knew_ that Paige was still in the building, I just needed to know _where_ in the building. Swallowing my annoyance, I looked back at Savannah. I couldn't just leave her standing alone in the parking lot.

"Come on," I said, taking her arm and leading her back to Paige's car. Or at least, that had been my intention. Unfortunately, Savannah was distracted on the way by my motorcycle.

"Hey, look at that Lucas!" she said excitedly to me, "Whose bike do you reckon that is?"

"It's mine."

"Really? Wow! What sort is it? Will you give me a ride sometime?" Savannah asked in a tirade of questions.

"It's a nineteen twenty six Indian Scout. And I daresay that if Paige consents and we can obtain you a suitable helmet then I'd be more than happy to give you a ride one day. But right now there are more important matters at hand." I answered, knowing that there was no way Paige would ever let me take Savannah anywhere, let alone on a motorcycle.

Finally reaching Paige's car, I unlocked it with a muttered spell under my breath and opened the door. "Stay here. I'll go and find Paige."

"Oh, c'mon Lucas! Let me come and help!" Savannah pleaded, as she got in the car anyway.

"Stay in the car, Savannah," I repeated, closing the door. Then, as an afterthought, I cast the lock spell. It wouldn't hold Savannah for long, but it would probably do more to deter her from leaving than simply telling her to stay would.

I ran back to the funeral home and made my way inside. It was chaos. As I stepped through the door, I immediately saw what at least some of the commotion was about. Triggered by my presence, an indistinct coloured cloud formed in front of the door. The smoke pulsated different dark colours and swirled, before it twisted into the disturbing image of a tall, hooded, blood-soaked figure brandishing a bloodied steak knife at anyone who dared approach it.

I waved my hand through it and then stepped back, unharmed. It was only an intangible conjuring of some kind. Dime store magic.

Gabriel Sandford had set these up by all the exits, thereby terrifying the mortals and causing chaos. Goddamn him! I looked around at the panicked mortals. How was I going to find Paige in this?

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A/N: Yes, I have _finally_ updated! It's been nearly 3 months, but I got here in the end! The whole funeral home thing was just going to be one chapter, but when I saw how long it was getting, and how much I still had to write, I realised it would make it ridiculously long, and take me a lot more time to finish… so you got a half chapter instead – hope that's ok!

By the way, if there's anybody reading this who speaks any Spanish, and would be willing to help me out at some point in the future – that would be great. Several times already, I've wanted Lucas to say/think something in Spanish, but as I've always done French and German… I know nothing beyond no.s 1-10 and 'my name is…' and _nombre de dios_ means 'oh my god', right? Mostly I'd just like some swear words, and other general exclamations of surprise/ annoyance. So, yeah, if anyone could help me out, that'd be great.

Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. Please review!


	6. The Funeral Home Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Dime Store Magic, it's characters, or anything written by Kelley Armstrong.

Many many thanks to starslaugh, Shlane, Nyteknight and prophetofdoomy for reviewing the last chapter!

_Previously…_

_I waved my hand through it and then stepped back, unharmed. It was only an intangible conjuring of some kind. Dime store magic._

_Gabriel Sandford had set these up by all the exits, thereby terrifying the mortals and causing chaos. Goddamn him! I looked around at the panicked mortals. How was I going to find Paige in this?_

Chapter 6 – The Funeral Home – Part 2

Running down the corridors of the funeral home, I searched for Paige. But all the panicking people filling the corridors were seriously hampering my efforts. Everyone was too wrapped up in their own fear and confusion to notice what anyone else was doing. Several times, I was almost bowled over by people not looking where they were going.

Thankfully though, locating Paige didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. By a stroke of luck, I spotted her racing down one of the empty hallways, and away from the hordes. Having already been down this way, I knew what Paige would find at the end of the corridor… an open exit door, but one that was booby-trapped.

Now I didn't know how much Paige knew about sorcerer magic, so I wasn't sure what she'd make of the conjurings. Would she realise them for what they were?

I ran after Paige as quickly as I could, as I was certain she had no particular yearning to see what was, in Gabriel Sandford's book, a prank. Depending on what sorcerer conjured them, they could be quite terrifying for someone who had no prior knowledge of what they were.

Now I profess myself as quite a proficient runner, and that, along with my advantageous height, allowed me to gain some ground on Paige. But I still wasn't quite fast enough.

As Paige reached the open door at the end of the corridor, sunlight spilling in from outside, her way was blocked by an illusion. Clouds of red and black materialized out of nowhere, right in her path to freedom. She stopped dead in her tracks, but it was too late. The indistinct coloured mist had converged into the startling image of what looked like a demonized dog, snarling angrily, it's jaws open, fangs glistening.

Paige screamed and turned on her heel, running straight into me.

She screamed again as I grasped her shoulders, trying to stop her running off. She struggled to get free, striking me with both her fists and her feet. I had to strengthen my grip on her so she couldn't go anywhere.

"It's ok, Paige. Shhh. It's nothing," I said, certain that she was just going to deck me when she realised that I was her captor.

However, for a second, when her eyes met mine, I was sure I saw relief there. She was glad to see me? That couldn't be right. She hated every fibre of my being, I was sure of it. And sure enough, after the split second, the relief I was now doubting I had seen disappeared, only to be replaced by horror.

"Oh God—Savannah," she gasped, dashing for the door, only to turn away again when the illusion sprang to life.

Paige shoved me, obviously trying to get past me to the other corridors, hoping for another way out. However, I could not allow that to happen. I knew that aside from proceeding through the terrifying but harmless illusion in front of us, there _was_ no other way out, save for through more of the 'trip wires'. I succeeded in keeping my balance, and managed to grab Paige round the waist.

"Savannah is this way, Paige. You have to go through it," I tried to explain.

I tried to get Paige to go through the door. However, all she would see was that demonic dog standing in our path. She fought me with all her might, scratching and kicking me, trying to get me to let go of her. It was only when her nails connected with the side of my face and tore my skin that, as I gasped in pain, my hold on her loosened enough for her to get free.

However, before she could run off to get lost in the crowds again, I grabbed her again, trying to make her see sense. "Goddamn it, Paige, listen to me! Savannah is that way! There's nothing there—it's a hallucination."

"I'm not halluc—"

My God, she was stubborn! "Damn it, watch!" I insisted, beginning to lose my usually infinite patience as she elbowed me in the stomach. I could feel the blood beginning to well up in the stinging furrows on my cheek.

I held her with one arm, very aware of how close I was to her. Then, I waved my hand into the empty air before us. Again, the smoke materialised, contorting into the snarling jaws. Seeing this, Paige began to fight me again. However, I kept my hold on her, and made her watch as the dog shifted shape into what could have been a dragon, before it became the dog again.

"A vision," I explained, "A conjuring. Dime store magic. It acts like a tripwire. Gabriel Sandford set them up by all the exits. Now, Savannah is safe and waiting for us—"

Paige pushed me away yet again, and bolted down the hall, right into one of the recently (and thankfully temporarily) resurrected dead. Unfortunately, it was also one of the more gruesome ones, as whoever this was had clearly been in the middle of an autopsy. I would imagine that in the morgue somewhere, there is a very unconscious Doctor of the ill-fated mortal who had been performing said autopsy and passed out when the subject had risen off the table.

However, Paige had frozen in the middle of the corridor, staring in horror at the now-walking dead man. When one of his internal organs fell out of the gaping hole in his chest, she screamed, and I decided that this was enough.

I reached forward and took hold of Paige, and practically dragged her back down the hall. She was half off the floor so I was almost carrying her, but so be it if this was the only way to make her exit the building.

As we reached the doors, the conjuring reactivated, and Paige began to fight me again. She definitely had a lot of spirit, and determination, and have I mentioned how stubborn she is?

When we were _finally_ outside in the parking lot, I gestured towards where Paige's car was parked.

"If you'll look over there," I said, a little out of breath, "You'll see Savannah in your car."

We both looked over to the hospital parking lot, and saw Paige's empty car, with no sign of Savannah anywhere.

"Goddamn it!" I exclaimed, wiping the blood from where Paige had scratched my cheek, "Where the hell is she?"

Why was this happening to me? Alright, so I hadn't expected the lock spell I'd cast to keep Savannah in, and I hadn't really expected her to stay in the car either. After all, why should she listen to me? I'm the sorcerer who her guardian hates and distrusts, what reason would Savannah have to listen to what I requested of her? Nevertheless, I had hoped that she might at least remain in the vicinity of the car. Apparently that was just another example of wishful thinking.

"I swear, if you've hurt her—" Paige began.

However, I never discovered what it was she was going to threaten to do to me, because at that moment I spotted Savannah. But I wasn't too disappointed for a way to placate Paige, because while I was confident that her threats wouldn't be quite as gruesome as some of the ones I have received from my stepmother and my brothers, I was less certain with Paige that it was all just talk.

"There," I said, striding past Paige, "Savannah! I told you to stay in the car."

"And you thought I'd listen?" Savannah replied, all attitude, "You cast a lousy lock spell, sorcerer. Hey, Paige, come over here. You've got to see this."

And without further ado, she was off round the side of the building to another entrance of the funeral home. I jogged after her and Paige, hoping against hope that they weren't seriously intending to return inside, not after I had spent so much time trying to get Paige out. However, fortunately, Paige had the presence of mind to catch the door before it closed, and held it open.

"Watch," Savannah commanded us, and waved her arm in the air in front of her. At the movement, another one of the illusions was tripped, one of a grotesque decomposing skull. Then it disappeared.

"Cool, huh?" Savannah commented, as if on the weather, "It's sorcerer stuff. Can you do this, Lucas?"

"Dime Store Magic," I returned, unimpressed by all the 'trip wires' that Gabriel Sandford had set up around the building. To him, this whole thing was just a sick joke.

"You can't, can you?" she said to me, clearly scornful of my abilities, "Bet I could," she continued confidently, and proceeded to talk about how cool the conjurings were, waving her hand through the air again and reactivating the illusion yet again. "You get near the door and it goes off. They're at all the doors. You should see all the cops out front." Savannah paused for a second, scrutinising Paige, and stated, "You don't look so good, Paige. Are you okay?"

"Leah… Sandford," Paige wheezed, "We have to go. Before they—"

But Savannah waved her off, "They're long gone. When I got outside, I saw Leah, and I was just about to run when Lucas grabbed me. I slugged him one and—" She stopped in her explanation and pointed at me, "Hey, did I do _that_?" she asked incredulously, no doubt referring to the bleeding scratches on my face.

I gingerly touches the side of my face and winced, "No I believe that would be Paige," I said, looking at the blood on my fingertips, "The bruise from your blow hasn't had time to rise yet. Now, as Savannah is trying to say, Leah and Sandford have left—"

"Oh, right," Savannah said, taking my words as a cue to continue, "So, Lucas grabs me and I fight, then Leah does her stuff and sends us flying. Before she can get to me, though, this other guy—Sandford, I guess—cuts her off, and he says something to her and they leave."

"They just walk away?" Paige said, and I could hear the scepticism almost dripping from her voice, "How… convenient."

Now as it happens, it wasn't particularly convenient, as it's this sort of thing that continues to convince Paige that I am a good for nothing sorcerer, up to no good, just like the rest.

"No, wait," Savannah protested on my behalf, "That's the good part. See, they can't touch Lucas because he's—"

"Not now, Savannah," I interrupted her, because while I appreciated her trying to vouch for me, it was probably best that Paige hear the truth about me from Robert Vasic, someone who she trusts implicitly.

"But you have to tell her, or she won't understand."

"Yes," Paige said, standing next to a pouting Savannah with her arms folded, "You have to tell me."

Great, just what I needed, both of them siding against me.

"You didn't call Robert, I presume?" I asked, calmly.

"He's out of town. And I want to hear it from you. Right now," Paige demanded.

I shook my head, "I'm afraid you'll require the extended explanation, for which there isn't time at the moment. However, I will explain as soon as we are safely away from this place."

"Hey, Paige," Savannah chirped up, with a welcome change of subject, "Did you see Lucas's bike?"

Okay, maybe it's a less welcome change of subject. Something to note for the future, Savannah can always be relied on to bring up all the topics that you don't want to have discussed.

However, I had no time to protest against Savannah showing Paige my bike, she had already rushed back around the side of the building, and was crouched down beside it, admiring it, asking questions about it.

"It's a collector's item. Really rare," she said approvingly, and I suspected that simply having a motorcycle was what had caused her sudden about turn attitude to me, and caused her to stop referring to me as 'sorcerer' and instead call me Lucas.

"Expensive, huh?" Paige said, with a look that could kill, "Like the designer shirt. Pretty sharp for a struggling lawyer," she added scathingly.

"I restored the bike," I explained, "As for the clothing, a suit is hardly appropriate for motorcycle riding. My wardrobe contains a limited supply of casual wear, the majority of it gifts from my family, whose budget and taste exceeds my own. Now, we really should—"

"I'm not going anywhere."

I didn't quite manage to suppress my growl of frustration. What was it now? She pressured me to explain, so I promised to as soon as we left. Now she didn't want to leave. What was wrong now?

"Paige, this is not the time—" I began.

"I'm not being difficult. I don't think it's a good idea to run. People in there saw me. They'll tell the police, who'll come after me and wonder why I took off."

I hesitated. That was definitely a valid rationale for remaining here and speaking to the authorities. "Quite right," I agreed, "I'd suggest we find an officer to take your statement."

"First, I'm getting those people out, before someone has a heart attack."

"Oh, please," Savannah scoffed with a roll of her eyes, "Who cares about them? They wouldn't help _you_. Tell her, Lucas."

Interesting, Savannah wanted _me_ to help her convince Paige to listen to her. Shame that Paige had no respect whatsoever for me or my opinions, and rightfully so, after the number of lies I had told her.

Thinking about it, Paige had a good point about getting everyone out. Eventually the police would brave the building, and although Sandford's spells would fail given time, there probably wouldn't be enough before the police arrived. And it really wouldn't do to have the legal authorities enter the building and find conjurings everywhere. "She's right. Paige, I mean. We should get them out."

"Not you too. Oh God, I'm surrounded," Savannah groaned, dramatising her predicament.

So, Paige and I re-entered the funeral home, and set about unlocking all the doors, and deactivating all the illusions. Now that she knew what the various materialising images were, I was glad to note that Paige was no longer in the bit distressed by them.

There were however, several instances of entering a hallway and Paige shrieking when she found a corpse lying on the floor. The necromancer's incantation must have worn off, and when it did, every single reanimated body would have simply ceased movement and dropped where they stood.

Eventually, with everything deactivated, and all the mourners freed and well, Savannah, Paige and I were also almost free to go. We just needed to find a suitable police officer to take Paige's statement.

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A/N: What can I say? I am so sorry about how long it's been since my last update (2 ½ months…) and also about this chapter, which unfortunately gave me little room for interpretation from the book. Also I have written this just now, and I'm currently brain-dead from my history exam today! (that's my excuse for any typos, mistakes, and just any bad writing!)

So, Questions? Comments? Please review!


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